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This is an interesting one because it overlaps a lot with gambling - how exactly do we approach a situation where someone's instincts have tipped them over the

by roenxi 2y ago

This is an interesting one because it overlaps a lot with gambling - how exactly do we approach a situation where someone's instincts have tipped them over the edge and they simply aren't behaving particularly rationally? It seems pretty obvious that these men are acting on a bunch of mating instincts designed to trigger courtship rituals. The situation is so far away from them ending up with a mate though that the whole thing is a bit sick - but given that they were always going to end up with nothing, does it matter if they got nothing in a different way than they expected? They're basically paying for a fantasy, getting a fantasy, then some people are getting unhappy when they discover that the fantasy was all in their imagination. The obvious answer to me is to note that the situation is very sad and then leave it alone. If someone is going to dump money into the internet then that is on them. If there is technically fraud happening and someone wants to push that angle then let the courts sort that out.

xxs 2y ago
>because it overlaps a lot with gambling Gambling in the UK is quite heavily regulated, though. That includes deposit limits, forced loss limits, max bets, min period between bets - stuff like that.
- roenxi 2y ago
  As far as I know, gambling is quite heavily regulated everywhere. This isn't gambling though, for obvious reasons. Nothing is being gambled.
  - xxs 2y ago
    >As far as I know, gambling is quite heavily regulated everywhere. Sort of. There is a massive difference even within the EU (GB is not EU, of course). Most of Asia is quite lax for instance. So is South America (and South Africa). US is on per state basis, generally more lax than Europe. However, in most jurisdictions KYC is mandatory along with identity+age verification, with anti money laundering applied.
narrator 2y ago
It's the same as women buying $30,000 leather hand bags and thinking they're absolutely worth it.
safety1st 2y ago
No you're letting the OnlyFans operators off the hook when you compare them to gambling operators. With the gambling operators we have laws against false advertising, there's all kinds of compliance that they do, there is law enforcement on both national and international levels and if they step outside of what's legal they can and do get sued and fined. With the OnlyFans operators it's false advertising from day one - they sell the right to chat with the model. Then they have a guy chat with you, pretending to be the model. If this was spelled out clearly in a terms of service or something the business would dry up overnight, these men don't want to pay money to chat with other men. They are being misled about what they're purchasing. The fraud is very clear-cut. Ryan Long did a hilarious bit on this, extremely NSFW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXXo_NPonss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXXo_NPonss Your comparison would make more sense if casinos were allowed to lie about the odds, change them with zero disclosure or warning, and even change the game you're playing or the opponent you're playing against without telling you as it happens. What I hate about this particular type of criminality is that it's so lucrative, all the other content on the Internet is turning into a loss leader for fraudulent OnlyFans subscriptions. Reddit, Instagram and dating apps have all been flooded with "women" posting racy photos with links back to OnlyFans in their profiles or after some short message script. You can't do anything about this because it's a women's rights and free speech issue, supposedly. But what the virtue signalers fail to understand is that it's rarely actual women creating these profiles or engaging for the OF sub fee, it's essentially just pimps (usually male) who hire that woman for periodic photoshoots. Or perhaps the people at Meta and Reddit are well aware but they like all the ad revenue they're collecting by keeping this porn studio's loss leader content online, so they keep their lips sealed.
plsbenice34 2y ago
Good observations and questions. Gambling, addiction, whatever this is - they all seem very similar to me. Humans are irrational and can be taken advantage of. It is akin to human software being hacked. However, I think this principle extends far - most of society is largely like this on different levels. Even the process of democracy and voting revolves around politicians deceiving people and providing fantasies. Manipulating human behaviour is becoming more of a known science over time. The idea that it is a solution to have the state be like a powerful parent and protect people from themselves bothers me greatly. I suppose the game must play out; there will be winners and losers, and natural selection will march onward...

by roenxi 2y ago

xxs 2y ago

>because it overlaps a lot with gambling Gambling in the UK is quite heavily regulated, though. That includes deposit limits, forced loss limits, max bets, min period between bets - stuff like that.

roenxi 2y ago
As far as I know, gambling is quite heavily regulated everywhere. This isn't gambling though, for obvious reasons. Nothing is being gambled.
- xxs 2y ago
  >As far as I know, gambling is quite heavily regulated everywhere. Sort of. There is a massive difference even within the EU (GB is not EU, of course). Most of Asia is quite lax for instance. So is South America (and South Africa). US is on per state basis, generally more lax than Europe. However, in most jurisdictions KYC is mandatory along with identity+age verification, with anti money laundering applied.

narrator 2y ago

It's the same as women buying $30,000 leather hand bags and thinking they're absolutely worth it.

safety1st 2y ago

No you're letting the OnlyFans operators off the hook when you compare them to gambling operators. With the gambling operators we have laws against false advertising, there's all kinds of compliance that they do, there is law enforcement on both national and international levels and if they step outside of what's legal they can and do get sued and fined. With the OnlyFans operators it's false advertising from day one - they sell the right to chat with the model. Then they have a guy chat with you, pretending to be the model. If this was spelled out clearly in a terms of service or something the business would dry up overnight, these men don't want to pay money to chat with other men. They are being misled about what they're purchasing. The fraud is very clear-cut. Ryan Long did a hilarious bit on this, extremely NSFW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXXo_NPonss https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXXo_NPonss Your comparison would make more sense if casinos were allowed to lie about the odds, change them with zero disclosure or warning, and even change the game you're playing or the opponent you're playing against without telling you as it happens. What I hate about this particular type of criminality is that it's so lucrative, all the other content on the Internet is turning into a loss leader for fraudulent OnlyFans subscriptions. Reddit, Instagram and dating apps have all been flooded with "women" posting racy photos with links back to OnlyFans in their profiles or after some short message script. You can't do anything about this because it's a women's rights and free speech issue, supposedly. But what the virtue signalers fail to understand is that it's rarely actual women creating these profiles or engaging for the OF sub fee, it's essentially just pimps (usually male) who hire that woman for periodic photoshoots. Or perhaps the people at Meta and Reddit are well aware but they like all the ad revenue they're collecting by keeping this porn studio's loss leader content online, so they keep their lips sealed.

plsbenice34 2y ago

Good observations and questions. Gambling, addiction, whatever this is - they all seem very similar to me. Humans are irrational and can be taken advantage of. It is akin to human software being hacked. However, I think this principle extends far - most of society is largely like this on different levels. Even the process of democracy and voting revolves around politicians deceiving people and providing fantasies. Manipulating human behaviour is becoming more of a known science over time. The idea that it is a solution to have the state be like a powerful parent and protect people from themselves bothers me greatly. I suppose the game must play out; there will be winners and losers, and natural selection will march onward...